A giant Magpies effort not enough to topple GWS

Greater Western Sydney fought off a fanatical bunch of Magpies to record just their second win at the MCG in their short history.

Headed in the last quarter and with the crowd against them, the Giants found enough to rebound and win a tight tussle by 16 points, a late snap from Lachie Whitfield sealing the game with just three minutes remaining.

Heath Shaw of the Giants beats a tackle by Josh Thomas.Credit:AAP

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It was a gutsy win from the Giants because this was a different Collingwood side to the one that turned up against Hawthorn a week earlier.

Not only were the twin talls in Mason Cox (suspended) and Ben Reid (hip) missing from the forward half, but the Magpies turned up with only one purpose: to attack the opposition.

Forget finessing or worrying about perfectly formed forward entries, the method was less important than seeing what happened when pressure is applied.

The focus of that pressure were the talented men in the orange jumpers of the Giants who turned up at the MCG hoping to win just their second game at the venue in 13 attempts.

If given space, GWS can destroy their opposition with quick ball movement and turn opponents into witches hats.

So the Magpies denied them space, depriving them of room to breathe and forcing mistakes.

The pressure rattled the Giants, which were also dealt a massive blow when running machine Tom Scully fractured his ankle after his leg became tangled in a tackle in the first quarter. Scully, like Broomhead, was taken from the ground on a stretcher and sent to hospital.

His loss compounded the effect of Toby Greene's absence, with the star a late withdrawal due to hamstring tightness.

Scott Pendlebury in heavy traffic.Credit:AAP

By half-time the momentum was with the Magpies as they led the uncontested and tackle count and they built on that energy early in the third quarter kicking the first two goals to establish a seven-point lead.

At that point they led the forward-half tackle count by 10 and were on the march despite losing Darcy Moore to a hamstring injury.

The small forward line worked though with chaotic entries troubling the Giants' tall defenders Phil Davis, Nick Haynes and Jeremy Finlayson.

However the Giants haven't made two consecutive preliminary finals by chance and they struck back, moving the ball quickly and kicking accurately.

Their method was clumsy and they were fumbly but they manufactured goals through a touch of luck with miskicks hitting teammates inside 50 who managed to kick straight four times.

Josh Kelly dispossess Darcy Moore.Credit:AAP

However they faced an angry Collingwood who refused to lie down, again kicking the first two goals of the final quarter to take the lead before Stephen Coniglio, who played well all day, kicked two consecutive goals to drag the Giants back in front.

In the end class told the tale with the Magpies not able to move the ball from one end of the ground to the other as effectively as the Giants when it mattered.

A lapse at a late stoppage allowed Lachie Whitfield to kick a snap goal before Jeremy Cameron nailed his second to ensure the four points went north to the west of Sydney.

Collingwood's loss sets up a huge clash against Carlton next Friday night at the MCG with both teams winless after two rounds.